'Planes: Fire And Rescue' First Details And Casting Revealed

With Planes hitting theaters nationwide today, Disney decided to give D23 fans a first look at the announced sequel, Planes: Fire & Rescue. They finally announced that Secret of the Wings and Stitch! The Movie helmer Bobs Gannaway is directing the sequel. Find out details about the movie after the jump.

As the title suggests, the film will be dedicated to people who save lives. This next adventure will answer the question: What if Dusty Crophopper could never race again? Could he find another dream? We're not sure why, but Dusty must take a deep dive into world of firefighting wildfire air attack. First fighters were cropdusters, so Disney thinks its naturally in Dusty's heritage.

The story is set at Piston Peak, a fictional combination of Yositmite and Yellowstone national parks. Dusty is trust head first into a new world introducing "cool new awesome aircraft characters."  He must train and learn to become one of the team. They announced one of the new characters:

Julie Bowen will play Dipper, a red and orange two propeller plane who is Dusty's biggest fan.

Also in this film, Dusty will get a new look: Black and red with silver water scoopers below.

Disney also screened an unfinished clip from the film. The clip shows us Dusty's arrival in Piston Peak, a tranquil-looking park which is much different than home. It is here he meets the air attack team for first time. Dipper gushes with her lightening quick delivery. Dusty is looking for a plane named Blade Ranger but the introduction is interrupted by a wildfire alarm. The whole team quickly preps, and AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" blasts over the loud speakers to get the crew pumped.

Small RC-looking sized cars load up in the back of cargo plane. The team takes off and Dusty follows to check it out. The navy green Native American Helicopter character drops water on the fire. Next up, Dipper also drops some water. The RC-looking cars sky dive out of the cargo plane to assist on the ground.

It's obviously a well oiled machine. Everyone is doing their own thing but each plane knows their own role. Dusty tries to help but gets in the way flying around. A red chopper (Blade Ranger?) is very angry that Dusty is there and tells him to get out of his airspace.

From this clip, the storyline feels again very close to Cars, with Dusty forced to adapt to a much different way of life – a fish out of water story.

Official Details from Disney:

Disneytoon Studios' "Planes: Fire & Rescue" landed on stage at the D23 Expo, welcoming Dane Cook, the voice of Dusty in "Disney's Planes," the action comedy adventure that landed in theaters today. Cook, who returns to voice the character in the follow-up, joined director Bobs Gannaway ("Secret of the Wings") on stage. Julie Bowen was announced as the voice of Lil' Dipper, and fans were treated to story details for "Planes: Fire & Rescue," plus character images, concept art and footage from the film.

"Planes: Fire & Rescue" features a quirky crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting historic Piston Peak National Park from a raging wildfire. When world famous air racer Dusty (voice of Cook) learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of wildfire air attack. Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his courageous air attack team, including spirited super scooper Lil' Dipper (voice of Bowen), heavy-lift helicopter Windlifter, ex-military transport Cabbie and a lively bunch of brave all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero. "Planes: Fire & Rescue" ignites July 18, 2014.